ABSTRACT
This chapter examines specific "culturally responsive teaching" strategies for students with different learning styles and needs. It provides a description of the etiology of students with different learning needs, characteristics of students from culturally different backgrounds, and the problems students from different cultural backgrounds often have in academic and social environments. The chapter highlights evidence-based instructional strategies that are effective for promoting and accepting students from different backgrounds in the classroom. It then focuses on one classroom, that of Ms. Stansbury, as a case in point for guiding the information and recommendations provided herein. Ms. Stansbury was raised in suburban America, identifies herself as White, and is 43 years old. Culturally responsive classrooms are characterized by at least four components: learning environment, curriculum and materials, teaching/instruction, and assessment/evaluation. The chapter focuses on one model and use it to offer suggestions for creating instruction that is culturally responsive for African American students.
